What hath God wrought-- what hath man unlocked?

I was recently made aware of a rapidly growing area of research in modern biology and medicine. It is the study of Epigenetics, which simply said, is another layer of genetic control that is found in the bodies of human beings, and evidently all living things.

We've been fairly familiar, on one level or another, with the idea of DNA and human genetics, but here is a whole new angle on it. The implications are tremendous. Something like facing starvation or smoking tobacco can actually change your genetic effectiveness, and that of your children.

Strides are already being made to use these new discoveries to treat various genetic problems people experience. It is an exciting breakthrough that has all kinds of implications for the treatment of genetic disorders, cancer, diabetes, and other monumental health problems.

But could it also be used wrongly? Or controversially? What if too much is done too quickly before scientists or practitioners fully understand the process?

Here is an article that explains what this is all about, in laymen's terms.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1952313-1,00.html